Saturday, August 20, 2016

With her second full-length album due out in just over a month, Banks (or Jillian Rose Banks, as her birth certificate calls her) seems to have set her sights on a dancier version of dark pop (where Lana Del Rey is more orchestral) - or at least that's what I gather from her latest video, directed by Philippa Price, for the song Gemini Feed:

There's something in the song's sound that I find lacking, but I can't put my finger on it exactly. Perhaps it's the drum programming, or the lack of actual string instruments, but there's a void in the sound that is reminiscent of that of 1980s pop to my ears, the type that makes me nauseous usually - but not in this case, not quite.

I do really like the directing and photography, though; the colours are clear and crisp, the wardrobe design is really nice and makes up for the simplistic set design (and probable lack of budget). And, yes, I did say I liked the clothes she wears in the video, despite not being a fashion enthusiast - at all.

Friday, August 5, 2016

New York City indie rock group Blonde Redhead actually has ties to a bunch of cities; singer and multi-instrumentalist Kazu Makino was born in Kyoto, Japan, while twin brothers Simone (drums) and Amedeo Pace (lead guitar/vocals) were born in Italy, raised in Montréal, moved to Boston as adults and studied in NYC, where they met Makino.

They formed the band in 1993 and released their self-titled debut in 1995, but people like me only started knowing of them in 1997 (Fake Can Be Just As Good). My favourite record of theirs is 2004's Misery Is a Butterfly.

Today, I chose to feature the title track from their 2007 record, 23, the first the band self-produced, though sound engineer extraordinaire Mitchell Froom participated in the recording of two songs. The video was directed by Melodie McDaniel, a photographer-turned-director whose past work includes Tori Amos' God, Madonna's Secret, Annie Lennox' Momma, Patti Smith's Don't Smoke In Bed, Porno For Pyros' Cursed Female and Charlotte Gainsbourg's Another Magazine:

Writer, mostly, in mediums diverse and similar: musician, film-maker, poet - not the bad type, nor the pretentious type. It's more that I suck at everything except producing words and shouting ideas at people. Oh, and I'm the guy who brings you UnPop Montreal yearly, helping the little guy get a voice in this variety-deprived city.